Poppy (1982 musical)
This is about the1982 musical. For the earlier production, see Poppy (1923 musical). '''Poppy' is a musical play. Cast *Tony Church - Emperor Tao-Kuan *Jane Carr - Queen Victoria *Stephen Moore - Jack Idle *Julia Hills - Sally Forth *Geoffrey Hutchings - Lady Dodo *Geraldine Gardner - Dick Whittington *Bernard Lloyd - Obadiah Upward *Roger Allam - Lin Tse-Tsii *Brian Poyser - Teng T'ing Chen *Susan Leong - Yoyo Plot It is 1840 but in the never-never land where gods meet, the Emperor of China warns the young barbarian Queen Victoria to learn to kow-tow. She sets the scene in an English village, ancestral home of the squire Dick Whittington and his widowed mother Lady Dodo. Dick is leaving with his manservant Jack Idle and the other men of the village to seek their fortunes in London or the new towns of the industrial revolution. Jack would rather stay with his girlfriend, Sally. His horse, Randy and her mare Cherry also fancy each other and have to be scolded for their farmyard ways. Dodo pines for the good old days but Dick says the age of gold is yet to come. Sally, left with her mare, sings her confusion. She likes Jack but pines for Sir Richard, who is also her guardian. Secretly she and Dodo take off on their own for London. p-cd In the City, Dick meets Obadiah Upward, a rising merchant, who explains how they can make their fortune in China from the sale of poppies. Dodo and Sally arrive and they agree to go. They sail to India and in the poppy fields Dodo tells Upward why she loves him. Dick and Jack reflect on British India, the East India Company and the Battle of Plassey in a Kipling ballad. En route for China, aboard one of Upward's opium clippers, Dick persuades Jack and Sally to sample their wares and they enjoy a pipe-dream of paradise. The Emperor of China tells Victoria to grow no more poppy but she replies that the Bounty of the Earth is to be shared by every nation. She leaves him alone to lament his son's addiction to the drug. He sends Commissioner Lin to Canton to stamp out the trade. Here Lin meets Viceroy Teng and his daughter Yoyo who describes the Europeans as all looking the same. Upward is not intimidated by Lin's threats and send Dick up the coast to seek fresh markets. Victoria joins his crew as an interpreter and Christian missionary and is questioned on her religious scruples. She says there us a blessed trinity that justifies trade. Before they leave Dodo guesses that Sally loves Dick and tells her he's not only her guardian but her half-brother. The Chinese besiege the European compound and the animals killed to be eaten. Jack sings Randy a last lullaby before shooting him. In the war that follows, the Chinese are beaten and surrender Hong Kong. Dodo and Upward tell us how the British and French soldiers sacked the Imperial Summer Palace in Peking. Most of the British live happily ever after and the Chinese learn to kow-tow. Musical numbers ;Act One * "The Emperor's Greeting" - Company * "Dunroamin-on-the-Down" - Company * "Whoa, Boy" - Jack and Sally * "The Good Old Days" - Dodo, Dick and Company * "Why Must I?" - Sally * "In These Chambers" - Obadiah and the Four Clerks * "If You Want to Make a Killing" - Obadiah, Dick, Dodo and the Four Clerks * "Nostalgie de la Boue" - Dodo and Obadiah * "John Companee" - Dick and Jack * "Poppy" - Dick, Jack, Sally and Company ;Act Two * "The Bounty of the Earth" - Queen Victoria * "The Emperor's Lament" - The Emperor * "China Sequence" * "They All Look the Same To Us" - –Lin Tse-Tii, Teng T'ing Chen, Yoyo and Chorus * "The Blessed Trinity" (Civilisation, Commerce and Christianity) - Queen Victoria, Dick, Obadiah, Sally and the Four Clerks * "Sir Richard's Song" - Dodo, Sally and Company * "Rock-A-Bye Randy" - Jack * "Rat-a-Tat-Tat" - Dodo and Obadiah * "Finale" - Company Category:Stage musicals